Given all the talk of Sergei Kostitsyn jetting back overseas to play in the KHL, this once again raises the specter of uncertainty when it comes to Nashville potentially drafting Valeri Nichushkin at the #4 spot in this weekend’s NHL Draft.
The guy’s got game-breaking talent, there’s no doubt about that, but could he fit in with Nashville’s system? What if he decides that the bright lights (and frequent-flyer miles) of Vladivostok are more enchanting than those of Music City? Such temptation, and such danger…
These are difficult considerations to balance, and were aptly described in song by Neil Young:
I caught you knockin’ at my cellar door
I love you, baby, can I have some more?
Ooh, ooh, the damage done.
I hit the city and I lost my band
I watched the needle take another man
I sing the song because I love the man
I know that some of you won’t understand
Milk-blood to keep from running out.
I’ve seen the needle and the damage done
A little part of it in everyone
But every junkie’s like a settin’ sun.